Centre releases Rs 1,764 cr grant for urban centres in four States

NEW DELHI: The Department of Expenditure under the Union Ministry of Finance has released funds worth Rs 1,764 crore to four Indian States for providing grants to cities/urban centres with million-plus population strength.

The States which received the funds are Andhra Pradesh (Rs 136 crore), Chhattisgarh (Rs 109 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 799 crore), and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 720 crore), a statement from the ministry said on Wednesday evening.

The grant released is meant for hubs such as Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh; Durg Bhilainagar and Raipur in Chhattisgarh; Aurangabad, Greater Mumbai, Nagpur Nashik, Pune, and Vasai-Virar City in Maharashtra; and Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the statement added.

So far, a total grant of Rs 4,761.8 crore has been released to urban local bodies in 2022-23.

The 15th Finance Commission in its report for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 has divided the Urban Local Bodies into two categories: (a) Million-Plus urban agglomerations/cities (excluding Delhi and Srinagar), and (b) all other cities and towns with less than one million population (Non-Million Plus cities).

The Commission had recommended separate grants for them. Out of the total grants recommended by the Commission for Million Plus Cities/ Urban Agglomerations, more than 2/3rd is recommended for the Solid Waste Management component and the remaining 1/3rd is allocated for Ambient Air quality.

The 15th F.C. recommended Solid Waste Management grant component of the Million Plus Cities Challenge Fund for Million-Plus cities/UAs is intended to be utilized for improving drinking water quality & supply (including rainwater harvesting and recycling), sanitation and achieving star ratings by the urban local bodies in Solid Waste Management in consonance with the approved City Action Plan (CAP) and commitments made in the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed for the purpose, the statement said.